By: Menna-allah Hamada Mohamed

The history of glass making began in 2000 BC in Asia, then moved to Egypt, then to Syria and Iraq in the ninth century BC, Muslims became famous in the glass industry, and many of their wonderful works are still preserved in international museums as evidence of their taste and creativity.

And “Mr. Hamada Al-Gohary”, an artist who working in the field of glass for more than twenty years at English company called "Treasure Tree”, confirmed that the craft had existed in Egypt since the Pharaoh era.

And he continued by saying: “For me, glass manufacturing is not only a profession, but rather an art of a special kind, which I respect, appreciate, and even adore. I do not care about the fatigue or hardship I may face, but all that matters to me is that my work be distinctive and that I accomplish it with the required quality and efficiency.”

And he added that, “Glass manufacturing” is not a profession, but rather an art, creativity, and the ability to imagine. This is how “El Gohary” expressed his love for his profession, saying: “What loved me about the profession was the foreigners and their fascination that I saw in their eyes as they watched our products. From here, I loved the profession and I was encouraged to develop myself to make new and different shapes.”

And he continued that It is art and whoever considers it a profession will not be able to work in it, because it depends primarily on art, imagination, and creativity, and requires precision, patience, determination, and endurance. 

Also “El Gohary” mentioned the process of making Glass, “Glass is from sand called silica, which is placed in large ovens and we add some chemicals to it. After that, the sand turns into dough. Then the worker begins to pull the dough with a pole, and after that, he puts it in an iron frame to shape it as he wants.”

Then he continued that, there is another type of process of making Glass,“The first thing we get is Pyrex glass pipes from China. After that, we cut them to specific sizes according to the shape using a flambeau that works with air, gas, and oxygen. Then we melt down the glass and start shaping it.” 

And he explained that, the color of the formed piece is determined after the smelting stage, so If blue glass is required, broken white glass is placed in the furnace and cobalt oxide is added to it after melting it. and If turquoise glass is required, copper oxide is added in this case.

He continued that the glass craft becomes more famous nowadays because There is more export abroad and foreigners are more interested in glass antiques, and the field of glass is becoming broader through marketing on the Internet.

And “Mr Hamada” added that, most of the products are exported outside Egypt, especially to England, where the company`s main headquarters is, and also they hold exhibitions inside and outside Egypt to introduce people to their artistic work.

Finally, he pointed out that the profession of handmade glass making is on its way to extinction for several reasons, the most important of which is that the new generations cannot sit for long hours in front of the oven and bear the very high heat it emits. Also, the new generations are looking for what is easier and brings them a faster profit, in addition to  It is not easy to learn, it takes years.